I did not appreciate James’s lack of clear communication regarding the driveway leading 1/2 mile up to the property. Especially; considering I was traveling with my 8-year old daughter and we arrived after dark expecting to be able to drive up to the house at 8:30 pm, only to suddenly realize that the driveway is not suitable for a Toyota Prius.
Sadly though, there was no mention of it in the ad or in any email communication between us, because I double checked these facts upon arrival thinking I had misread either the ad or email. The only mention was in an email that stated “Rutted Gravel Road.” I have driven on rutted gravel roads in my life and the driveway is a cow pasture which requires a High Level Vehicle.
Because I wanted a full refund he attempted to come up with solutions, via cell phone to help us and to avoid providing a refund. Regrettably, there was no solution to be found at 8:30 pm at night; nor was he willing to issue any refunds so I could secure better housing for my daughter and I.
Consequently, my daughter and were able to very slowly and carefully drive about 1/4 mile in and then walked the last 1/4 mile into the property around 10:30 pm. Now, what hurts and angers me as a parent is that my daughter was terrified because we were walking in total darkness at 10:30 pm to a house that we hoped was the right location in the middle of Glacier. Unfortunately, the flash light on a cell phone doesn’t do much to illuminate a darkened night. Then, after arriving to the house, I made several additional trips, back to the car, hauling our belongings to the house so my daughter and I could get ready for bed which was around 12:30 am.
Then the next day, James texted me and allowed me to use his four wheel drive pickup so I could bring the remaining items to the house. But during the 6 day stay we walked back and forth to the car whenever we traveled from the property due to the truck no longer working.
Finally, when an issue such as this occurs, VRBO will not intervene and assist with a refund, nor are they willing to assist in finding a place to sleep in case of an emergency such as this. The customer service representative said, “It is between you and the owner. There is nothing that we can do.” And his decision not to assist that night made a bad situation even worse. And their book with confidence guarantee is really a joke as well; consequently, it is a renter beware arrangement